Boeing Crash 'Terror' Warrants Substantial Award, Jury Hears

By Lauraann Wood

The estate of an emerging global health advocate who died in the Boeing jet crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 should receive substantial damages for her experience in the six minutes before impact and how her death has affected her family, Illinois federal jurors heard Wednesday.

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Boeing Says Fund's Revised 737 Max Fraud Suit Still Doomed

By Katryna Perera

Boeing has urged an Illinois federal judge to permanently toss a securities fraud suit accusing the company of misrepresenting the safety of its 737 Max 8 jets after two deadly crashes overseas, reiterating that the Massachusetts-based investment fund cannot pursue claims purportedly assigned to it by a defunct assignor.

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Federalism Probed In Suit Over Judge's MAGA Op-Ed Ouster

By Celeste Bott

An Illinois federal judge said Wednesday he may have to abstain from exercising jurisdiction over a retired Illinois state court judge's claims that was wrongfully removed from the bench over protected speech in a political opinion column, saying the prospect of a federal court in the first instance instructing the state's top jurists about who can be a judge "seems to break the respect that federalism demands for state government."

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Illinois Is Latest State To Probe Fatal ICE Shooting

By Brandon Lowrey

Illinois State Police has launched an investigation into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents' fatal shooting of a man during last year's widespread federal crackdown on undocumented immigrants, joining other states that have filed or are considering bringing criminal charges against federal agents.

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Nursing Home Co. Can't Stave Off EEOC Harassment Trial

By Grace Elletson

A nursing facility operator can't dodge a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit claiming it fired an employee for complaining that her boss sexually harassed her, an Illinois federal judge said Wednesday, ruling a jury needs to assess whether the business acted out of retaliation.

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Judge Questions OMB Justification For Voiding Grants

By Julie Manganis

A Massachusetts federal judge on Wednesday pushed back on arguments by the Trump administration that federal agency grants are subject to termination at any time based solely on a change in priorities — a situation, she suggested, that would essentially render any contracts with the government "illusory."

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Financier Charged With Fleecing Billionaire Out Of $450M

By Pete Brush

A financier based in Greece defrauded Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego out of $450 million, misappropriating stock that the telecommunications baron used to secure a loan after lying about his bona fides, New York federal prosecutors have alleged.

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Mortgage Co. Strikes $9M Deal In NC Phone-Pay Fee Suit

By Sydney Price

A certified class of North Carolina borrowers on Wednesday asked a federal judge to preliminarily approve a $9 million settlement to resolve claims their Illinois-based mortgage servicer Dovenmuehle Mortgage Inc. charged them excessive processing fees to pay their bills over the phone.

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Brief

Buyers Drop Cresco, Verano, Cannabist THC Potency Suits

By Jonathan Capriel

Cresco, Verano and other cannabis companies have secured permanent ends to lawsuits accusing them of mislabeling products to get around state-mandated THC potency limits in Illinois, the latest stipulated dismissals following a swell of favorable court rulings for the industry.

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7th Circ. Won't Revive Ex-DHS Officer's Disability Bias Suit

By Grace Elletson

The Seventh Circuit has declined to reinstate a fired immigration officer's suit claiming the Department of Homeland Security failed to accommodate his medical issues, saying that his claims were "meritless" and that he hadn't properly attempted to resolve them within the agency before filing suit.

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Banks Face Cloudy Rate Horizons As Opt-Outs Spread

Banks and fintechs are grappling with a fragmented, fast-changing consumer lending landscape as more states consider opting out of preemption under the Depository Institutions and Monetary Control Act, which may ultimately lead to a decrease in interstate lending and access to credit, says Marc Franson at Chapman and Cutler.

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Feds Say Stolen BigLaw Deal Info Aided Huge Trading Scheme

By Chris Villani

Federal prosecutors on Wednesday unveiled indictments outlining a massive insider trading scheme that allegedly netted tens of millions of dollars using nonpublic information about mergers and acquisitions worked on by some of the nation's biggest law firms.

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McDermott Is Cutting Its Associate Ranks

By Aebra Coe

McDermott Will & Schulte is downsizing its associate ranks less than a year after the firm was created via a combination of legacy firms McDermott Will & Emery and Schulte Roth & Zabel, the law firm confirmed Wednesday.

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Roberts Says High Court's Job Is To Make Unpopular Rulings

By Katie Buehler

Chief Justice John Roberts said Wednesday that the U.S. Supreme Court often must issue "unpopular" opinions, as the high court faces widespread backlash over its recent ruling limiting the Voting Rights Act's use in challenging racial discrimination in congressional redistricting.

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The Top Law Schools For Every Career Path: Class Of 2025

Where do law school graduates end up once they dive into the job market? Find out which schools came out on top for job placements in BigLaw, federal and state court clerkships, and other legal industry sectors.

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Atty Sanctioned Over Bogus Citations In Forced Labor Case

By Jake Maher

A Maine federal judge has sanctioned an attorney for submitting court filings with fake legal citations to oppose the dismissal of a forced labor trafficking suit against a school, after using an artificial intelligence platform.

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Feds Say 4th Circ. ICE Ruling Doesn't Help Ex-Wis. Judge

By Ryan Boysen

Former Wisconsin state judge Hannah C. Dugan can't use a recent Fourth Circuit ruling to overturn her conviction for obstructing ICE officers, the federal government said Wednesday, calling that ruling "merely relevant" and not at all binding.

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NC Man Pleads Guilty To Doxxing Justice's Home Address

By Bonnie Eslinger

A North Carolina man who posted the home address of a U.S. Supreme Court justice online and suggested violence against members of the high court pled guilty Wednesday to a "doxxing" charge with the intent to "threaten, intimidate, or incite a crime of violence" against the justice.

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Judge Won't Force Hunter Biden's Foreign Agent Registration

By Jack McLoone

A Washington, D.C., federal judge won't force the U.S. Department of Justice to register Hunter Biden as a foreign agent, dismissing a suit brought by a group founded by now-Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller because it can't establish it suffered an injury.

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